Flintlock Fantasy

In the past recent years, the sub-genre of “Flintlock Fantasy” (also labeled Gunpowder Fantasy and Muskets and Magic—a take off Sword and Sorcery) has been growing and gaining popularity. Some may describe this sub-genre in a few ways, since it derives from Historical Fantasy, but could be very much Epic Fantasy, depending on the world setting, and the foundation of magic and/or fantastical creatures.

First of all, Flintlock Fantasy is fantasy that has moved out of the typical Medieval European setting that we’re all accustomed to in the fantasy genre, and into a more industrialized period (like the 18^TH and 19^TH century). Magic, gods and other fantastical creatures still exist, but we get to see guns and cannons (gunpowder) used in the setting. This makes for a different type of world than the usual fantasy novel, because warfare has changed completely. In addition, this description of Flintlock Fantasy takes place in a secondary world, which is the norm in the epic fantasy genre.

Examples are as follows… Brent Weeks’ Lightbringer series is a wonderful example of good “Flintlock Fantasy”, complete with a unique magic system (involving colors) and muskets. Chris Evans’ Iron Elves series is a series I have not gotten a hold of yet, but it falls into this same category. A debut author that has been getting really good reviews with his new release is Brian McClellan, author of Promise of Blood (book one in The Powder Mage Trilogy). He created a magic system in his world where there are people called Powder Mages who have the ability to manipulate gunpowder as their magic ability; all set in a world of other kinds of magic users and gods. Another new author coming on the scene as having a Flintlock Fantasy book released this year is Django Wexler, author of The Thousand Names (first in The Shadow Campaigns series). I’m looking forward to reading both Mr. McClellan and Mr. Wexler’s books.

Just to mention a few more authors; Bradley P. Beaulieu’s The Lays of Anuskaya series may fall in this sub-genre as well. Col Buchanan’s Heart of the World books have gunpowder and airships; not to be mistaken for steampunk, despite the airships. Margaret Weis & Robert Krammes’ Dragon Brigade series had their characters fighting with pistols and muskets, mixed with dragons, floating land masses and airships. Even the notorious Brandon Sanderson did a cool spin by writing a Mistborn novel set 300 years after his successful epic fantasy, The Mistborn Trilogy. The novel is called The Alloy of Law; and Mr. Sanderson shows his world of Scadrial as industrialized, with a late 19^TH century-ish kind of setting, with revolvers, railroads, electric lighting, and the building of a skyscraper.

Another look at describing the Flintlock Fantasy sub-genre could fall in the style of The Pirates of the Caribbean, or the pulp-fiction classic of the late 1920’s and 1930’s, Solomon Kane, created by Robert E. Howard (who gave us Conan the Barbarian). These two examples are set in our world, around the 17^TH and 18^TH century, but they have magic, fantastical creatures, along with the use of flintlock pistols, muskets, rapiers and dirks.

Books that may get confused with the Flintlock Fantasy sub-genre can be Andre Norton and Rosemary Edghill’s Carolus Rex series. These books take place in the Napoleonic Era, with elements of magic, faeries and machinations; but they seem to be more of a work of historical fantasy / alternate history. I would say the same of Naomi Novik’s Temeraire novels, which also take place in the Napoleonic Era. These books are basically Alternate History with dragons. Michael A. Stackpole’s The Crown Colonies novels take place in the late 18^TH century, giving us an alternate history of our world, complete with fantastical creatures, magic, and zombie soldiers. Last, but not at all least, is D.B. Jackson’s The Thieftaker Chronicles, set in Boston in the late 18^TH century, which could be described a little more akin to Urban Fantasy, just not set in contemporary times.

I personally embrace the definition of Flintlock Fantasy as epic fantasy that has been industrialized. The use of gunpowder in fantasy-like stories is nothing new—as mentioned above with Solomon Kane. And video games and indie writers have given the use of flintlock weapons in a fantasy setting a fun spin for a while now. But seeing Epic Fantasy evolve into something fresh and not overdone is exciting. As this sub-genre grows, it's going to be great to see how each writer develops their worlds using this element. Just like Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance has gotten out of control these past few years, I’d like to see Flintlock Fantasy begin to take up the shelves, continuing the great diversity of our beloved genre.

RELATED POSTS: 
History in Fantasy - Part 1
History in Fantasy - Part 2 
History in Fantasy - Part 3    

Originality in Fantasy



Fantasy readers continue in pursuit of their favorite types of fantasy fiction; whether they be the typical sword and sorcery, quest fantasy, or dark fantasy. But many fantasy fans are growing weary of what seems to be the same old method in fantasy novels recycled over and over again.

There are a lot of complaints about books hanging on to the Tolkien-like setting. When most of us read the Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks, the similarities to the Fellowship of the Ring was too obvious. When we read the Eye of the World by Robert Jordan, we could sense the same resemblances from the Lord of the Rings in some parts. Peter Orullian’s debut fantasy novel, The Unremembered, is said to have utter likenesses to Robert Jordan’s the Eye of the World.

How many of us have read the farm boy going to fight the great dark lord story? How many have read the story of the orphan seeking revenge for the death of their parents; or the orphan that becomes an assassin or great magician? How about the story about an empire having slave warriors to fight and conquer for them; only the slave warrior becomes the hero against the evil empire? Don’t forget the stories about magic swords; a boy/girl and their dragon(s); or the reluctant hero who was prophesied to save the world. I could go on about the different formulas that we see, not only in the fantasy genre, but in fiction in general.

This is not only an occurrence in books, but in cinema as well. How many romantic comedies have we seen where the male or female character has some kind of secret (or lie), and the love interest finds out about it. The love interest gets upset and never wants to talk to the other again; yet they make up at the end and live happily ever after. And what is it with all the action movies? We know that the main bad guy and the hero are going to fight at the end, and the bad guy is going to get destroyed; can we at least get a surprising twist?

There are a few formulas to storytelling, but hundreds of thousands of stories (if not more), using the same old formulas. Can we say that originality is dead in fiction? Can anything in Fantasy be original anymore? Some say no to the latter. I say yes.

I’m going to use two authors, whose stories I admire, as examples of what originality looks like in fantasy. Now, let me say that I think each book in their series goes on for too long, but they have characters that are interesting enough to keep reading about (even though it seems like they are doing next to nothing sometimes). The two authors are George R.R. Martin (A Song of Ice & Fire books) and Patrick Rothfuss (The Kingkiller Chronicle).

George R.R. Martin has painted a dark and cold world where many dynasties are vying for power over a vast land (Westeros). We experience and learn of the world through the limited third-person point of views of many characters that you grow to love or hate (or a little of both). Though there’s magic in the books it’s subtle and builds up slowly through the series. There are dragons, but they are not set in the story with the same old casting as most books in the genre. Tyrion, probably my favorite character, is a dwarf—not the typical dwarf of fantasy, with the long beards, and living inside the mountains. No, Tyrion is just a normal human, born of “normal” people  with “normal” siblings; however, he was born a dwarf, like in the real world, and he’s a flawed and crafty individual. The books are loaded with political intrigue and battles; unlikely alliances; twists and turns; and disappointments (in regards to the fate or decisions of characters). You will not read Martin’s series and say to yourself, “Hey this looks similar to so-and-so’s book.” Why? Because it’s original. Writers are trying to emulate Martin now, because he has taken the Epic Fantasy genre and changed it into something unpredictable, gritty and realistic (for its period setting). As I stated in a previous post, I personally find the books too dark and graphic in some places, but I cannot deny that Mr. Martin is fantastic at what he does, and has produced an engrossing and epic tale.

Patrick Rothfuss only has two (fat) books out now, but he is definitely one of the giants in modern fantasy fiction today. The reason is because of his exceptional, original storytelling. His story of Kvothe in his Kingkiller Chronicle is interesting and entertaining. Rothfuss gives us a character that tells his own story (in first-person narrative) about his legacy. Kvothe becomes an orphan in the story, due to the death of his parents, and he wants vengeance for their death, but this is not the main plot of the books. Rothfuss tells a whole other type of story through Kvothe, giving us the tale of his life at the university, and his later tales of his adventures outside the university. The books have magic, but the magic system (mostly alchemy) is excellent, in my opinion; giving the readers something more than just the wizard’s staff or the magical object. The magic is a large part of the story, but it is not the drive of the story—the character is. Rothfuss makes it where the readers actually love following Kvothe through his story; and it’s a cool, interesting and fun piece. The books are completely original and memorable.

There are other original good stories out there, but the two authors that I’ve mentioned above are the ones that have stood out to me as being something refreshingly unique in the genre. Let’s not mistake originality with good storytelling. You can have originality, but to the point where it’s too original and does not make for good storytelling. There are writers that spend so much time trying to explain their “original” world instead of letting the story, through the characters, reveal the world to us. There are writers that can take one of the typical formulas described above and tell a great story, with a unique voice of their own, but it wouldn’t classify for originality.

There is nothing like opening a book by an author you’re not familiar with and discovering an original piece of fantasy fiction that was unexpected and different from anything else that you have ever read. It’s like finding gold in a pile of stones, or a diamond in the rough. 

RELATED POSTS:
Similarities between Harry Potter & The Worst Witch 
Inspirations of Fantasy
The Evolution of Modern Fantasy - VIDEO 

Long Fantasy Series… Are They Dying Out?

The long trend in the Fantasy genre is the multi-book series; mostly consisting of trilogies, but sometimes a couple of books more. However, over the past couple of decades or so, we’ve seen the “masters of fantasy” dish out these long-drawn-out stories, seeming to stretch their worlds to no end. These long series have fed fans for decades, giving them more and more of the worlds and characters they’ve grown to love. However, these long series have also brought disappointment to the fans; many complaining about the authors' decline in storytelling; plots going nowhere; characters loosing their flavor; etc. Despite these complaints, loyal fans continue to follow the series, in hopes that the authors will be able to pull themselves out of their creative decay, and return to the glory days (back when their story was in its prime). The fans that are not so loyal just give up and choose not to waste any more time on the series. I tend to fall into this category, because I have yet to be captivated by a long series where I can continue past the first three books (apart from Star Wars).

Let’s name just a few authors who’ve stretched their worlds through numerous volumes of books:

• Raymond E. Feist produced 30 books in his Midkemia world in multiple series, known as the Riftwar Cycle. The last book, Magician’s End, is due to release in the U.S. on May 14^TH. Mr. Feist had been writing these books for over 30 years.

• Terry Brooks has been writing in his Shannara series for decades (the first book, The Sword of Shannara, was released in 1977). He is still writing in this series today; with Bloodfire Quest released in March of this year, and Witch Wraith due for release this July. I have lost count of the Shannara books, but I believe that there are over 20 so far.

• Katharine Kerr gave us 15 books in her Deverry series, concluding with The Silver Mage (released in 2009). 

• Robert Jordan originally intended to write his Wheel of Time series in 6 books, but the story grew too big. He was only able to fully write up to 11 books in the series before his passing in 2007. Brandon Sanderson completed the last 3 books in the series, working with Jordan’s wife and the notes that remained. A Memory of Light, the 14^TH and final book of the series, was released at the beginning of this year.

• Terry Goodkind released his 12^TH Sword of Truth novel last year, with the 13^TH book, The Third Kingdom, supposedly due out later this year. I say “supposedly” because the book is rumored as coming out in August, but there’s no mention of it on the publisher’s website. 

• David Eddings wrote The Belgariad series in 5 books, and then wrote The Malloreon series as a sequel, also in 5 books. There was another 3 books that Eddings co-wrote with his wife, Leigh, that were related to the same world.

• After 13 books, Robin Hobb released her book, The Willful Princess and the Piebald Prince, in February this year, continuing her Realm of the Elderlings series. 

• Stephen R. Donaldson has his book, The Last Dark, due to release in the Fall of this year, to conclude his long-running The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant series. Altogether, this would make for 10 books.

• Steven Erikson’s Malazan Book of the Fallen series ended with the publication of The Crippled God in 2011. Erikson completed the series in 10 books, but these books were ridiculously thick, with the shortest book consisting of 768 pages, and the longest clocking in at just under 1300 pages. That’s really more like over 20 books, if you put it altogether, based on the average book size. 

• I do not consider George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire to be a large volume series, since it is Mr. Martin’s intention to write 7 books to complete the series (5 released; 2 more to go). But he is taking such a long time to complete each book; and a lot of readers are nervous that he may not be able to finish. He’s not getting any younger, and, as we’ve seen, he is not the fittest man in America; and his books are getting above 1,000 pages. I know it takes time to write a really good book, but there was a five-year wait between book 4 and 5; and there’s no telling when book 6 will be released.  

The above list is not exhaustive. I could’ve included Terry Pratchett, considering his Discworld novels, which I believe may have reached 40 books. But those novels are different stories set in the same world; not an ongoing epic story. Also, Pratchett’s Discworld is more like Comic Fantasy (humorous and fun to read). Mr. Pratchett has been dealing with Alzheimer's for a few years now, so it’s not real certain how much longer the Discworld series will continue. I could also mention the Dragonlance series, which is mostly collaborated by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. It’s a progressing world of many books, read by faithful followers, and continuing to stay true to the High Fantasy bloodline.

The series listed above are stories spanning from the late 1970’s on up to today. Most of these authors are well over 60 years old; and their long line of novels, of worlds and characters loved (and hated) by a multitude of readers over many years, are coming to an end. After these authors’ long running series are truly said and done, can we expect publishers to continue such lengthy cycles with the newer authors of today? Trilogies and tetralogies are the norm with today’s “younger” authors, and it’s difficult to tell who among them will be the next producer of a long, successful fantasy series. I have no doubt that there will be more long series, but will there be as much as we’ve seen from past to present? Will readers of today want to continue on with long drawn-out stories that span over decades?

As I’ve mentioned above, a lot of readers are growing weary with some of these series where the authors are not producing quality books in their created worlds. There’s nothing fresh coming forth in these long series; just the authors making their word counts. Can an author truly devote him/herself to a long, epic story for years and years and continue to produce quality? Has it been done, and can it be done? I’m sure we could get mixed answers on that question.

The industry is changing. With the successful rise of e-books, indie publishers, and self-published authors, a lot of books are becoming available to a wide array of readers. Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance continue to fill up the publishers’ yearly rosters and the bookstore shelves (including online bookshelves). These sub-genres have their own collection of series, but they are still modern and riding the waves of today’s trends. Publishers and authors will continue to spit out what they deem will sell; and we will still see a large collection of books that will not live on to be legendary.

I believe the Fantasy genre is evolving, but it’s tough to say whether or not long series will be able to remain in this young evolution. Like I said, there will continue to be long series, but how many, and for how much longer? Only time will tell.